Border Control and Customs

Jose Renderos: $45 Million Fake Credit Card Ring Sees Indictment For Eastside Suspect

Wouldn't you just love to have a virtually unlimited supply of credit cards that could rack up $45 million in charges? Us too. The problem for 38-year-old Eastsider Jose Rolando Renderos his accomplices was that the cards were fake and the charges were fraudulent, according to a U.S. federal grand ... More >>

Marijuana Boat Boat In Southern California Waters Busted By Coast Guard, Officials Say

Even in Los Angeles, the medical marijuana capital of the nation, where weed is semi-legal and certainly out-in-the-open, contraband pot seems to come at us from all directions -- by land, air and sea. Well, at least by land and by sea. U.S. Coast Guard and Customs & Border Protection officials sai ... More >>

Disruption, Rebellion and Resistance: Activists Call for Action

Fake Viagra Floods LAX: Suspect Barry Johnson Pleads Guilty; Kil Jun Lee Arrested

You know guys, there's no such thing as generic Viagra. And "herbal" Viagra? That's just shite. Shysters out there are taking advantage of the fact that you're too chicken to go to a doctor for 10 minutes and explain that you have boner problems (or that you're a porn star). So they sell some fak ... More >>

Marijuana for the Taking (and the Toking) Found Floating in Ocean off Marina Del Rey

Yes, there is a god, said the surfer. Free marijuana floating in the ocean was just there for the taking. Unfortunately, Sheriff's deputies got to it before any of the guys at Venice Pier could. Damn it:

[Updated] Cars, Pedestrians Crossing Mexico-U.S. Border Stuck in Tijuana After Scaffolding Collapse

ReutersThe hellish line to San Ysidro just got worse.​Update: The wait time at the Otay crossing into the U.S. is over two hours, both in car and on foot. The southbound lanes into Tijuana have been re-opened, but border officials Tweet that they will not be "processing pedestrians or vehicles ... More >>

ICE Raids L.A. Home for Drugs; Finding None, Agents Allegedly Beat Up Bonilla Family, Try to Deport Them

CHIRLAMrs. Bonilla says she can no longer sleep at night.​Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are sudden, devastating -- yet over in a flash, and difficult to trace. A Twitter scare last month set Union Station a-scatter at the mere suggestion that feds were checking IDs. Still, i ... More >>

Illegal Immigrant Suspects Land on Santa Cruz Island, Call 911 in Bid to Return Home

Santa Cruz Island: Es un mirage.​Gosh. Imagine the disappointment. America! We made it. Wait, no. It's just a deserted island. No Lindsay Lohan. Not even a car wash. That was the case over the weekend when 15 suspected illegals landed on Santa Cruz Island, one of the famed Channel Islands o ... More >>

SoCal U.S. Immigration Services Supervisor And His Son Convicted of Fraud, Bribery

Liberte, egalite, bribery.​A father who worked for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and his adult son, faced the possibility of a century behind bars after the pair profited from immigrants and travelers who wanted to come to the country. In one case the cost of legalization was ... More >>

That Alien Feeling

Opium, 8 Pounds Worth, Found on LAX Passenger Arriving From Amsterdam, Authorities Allege

What happened to good ole' fashioned American heroin, anyway?​Hmm. Coming from Amsterdam, eh? Maybe we better take a closer look at those suitcases. That was the case at LAX, and authorities said they busted a 28-year-old U.S. citizen returning from the Dutch city. They allege he had nearly 9 ... More >>

SoCal Border Patrol Agent Hoards Meth, Illegal Immigrants In Home -- Including Own Father

FBIThe Sr. half of the Manzano schemers​How about a fresh slice of tragic irony for this humdrum Wednesday afternoon? We've just learned of one U.S. Border Patrol agent who, let's just say, isn't quite as anti-immigrant as those in Weekly cover story "The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Imm ... More >>

Miami Man Tries To Smuggle 14 Pounds Of Colombian Cocaine Through LAX In Candy Easter Eggs

Easter came early for ICE officials last Thursday​Esteban Galtes, the 23-year-old Miami resident due in L.A. federal court today for smuggling blow, could have at least waited until springtime to disguise his stash in little pastel candies shaped like Easter eggs. When asked why he was carryi ... More >>

Grass Reindeer Figures Seized At LAX (No, They're Not Made Of That Kind Of Grass)

CPBDo these belong under a tree, or maybe in a bong?​You know it wouldn't be the holidaze without some seriously grinchy stories coming at ya. Yesterday we told you how L.A. city officials and police cracked down on fake designer crap (and DVDs) your mom buys. Now comes word that the crack, h ... More >>

U.S.-Mexico Border 'More Secure Than Ever' In 2010, Claims Secretary Of Homeland Security

APJanet Napolitano, detained in the desert​Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made a highly publicized trip to Los Angeles' nearest border yesterday. She was quick and happy to tell the nation's news outlets from San Ysidro that illegal immigration has dropped 17 percent in the last ... More >>

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder In L.A. To Make Announcement About Marijuana Legalization; He'll Be Joined By Pot Foes

Will Eric Holder denounce Prop. 19?​U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to be in town Friday to make an announcement about California's marijuana-legalization effort. We're not expecting it to be an endorsement. Here's why: Standing with him will be Prop. 19 opponents Sheriff Lee B ... More >>

"Coach" Scarves From Counterfeit Capital Of The World Detained At Los Angeles Seaport By Homeland Security Heroes

Department of Homeland Security​Well-dressed patriots rejoiced and broke consumer whores wept this morning, when a giant shipment of 24,000 "Coach" scarves from China was stopped in its tracks at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport. With hound-like intuition, Customs and Border Protection offi ... More >>

1,200 National Guard Troops Heading To The U.S.-Mexico Border

The border at Imperial Beach, Calif.​The Obama administration on Tuesday pledged to put 1,200 National Guard troops at the U.S.-Mexico border in response to a request by an Arizona congresswoman who complained about an influx of illegal Mexican immigrants. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Tucs ... More >>

Breaking News: Restaurant's Owner, Sushi Chef Charged In Whale Meat Scandal

​Federal charges were filed Wednesday against a Santa Monica restaurant and its sushi chef for allegedly serving sei whale, an endangered species projected under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, the U.S. Attorney's office announced. The criminal complaint charges the The Hump's parent c ... More >>

Swine Flu Notes: Where's the Pork?

We're one week into L.A.'s chapter of the swine flu pandemic/panic and already people are asking, "Where's the pork?" Raised on bio-disaster movies and braced for the worst upon hearing of Mexico's initial death toll, Angelenos were expecting (not, I should stress, hoping) to see bodies in the stree ... More >>

Janet Napolitano = Homeland Futility

Governor Napolitano's sorry service in Arizona makes her a terrible choice for Homeland Security secretary

Migra Headaches: Brown-on-Brown Crime-Fighting

Plus, the Uber-Mex and the Zimmerman Telegram

New Slant on Italics

And could Cesar Chavez be an icon of the Minutemen?

Pedro Guzman's Return

Wrongly deported to Mexico, a developmentally disabled man is found safe

Lost in Tijuana

A mother’s search for a son, born in East L.A. but deported by County Sheriffs

The Minuteman's Tale

A Political obituary: Jim Gilchrist, 2005–2007

ˇAsk a Mexican! The Assimilator

Why does Arnold Schwarzenegger keep putting his foot in his mouth and talking smack about Mexicans?

Girls Gone Border Patrol!

Arizona teens get their cop on

Last Exit to Tombstone

Scenes from the capital of illegal immigration

Dead Men Walking

Border crossings gone very, very wrong

Hard Lines

Weird Bull Names(from the Professional Bull Riding Association)

Overcoming in Texas

INS delays freedom ride